SUPERGIRL Post-Mortem: Robert Rovner and Jesse Rath on ‘Fallout,’ Nia, Brainy, and Kara’s Latest Trouble

[This post contains spoilers for the SUPERGIRL hour “Fallout.”]

As the SUPERGIRL world grappled with the truth that President Marsdin (Lynda Carter) is an alien, the series showcased its most political hour yet.

“The whole season we’re exploring stuff that is happening in the country and how Supergirl is dealing with a divided nation,” executive producer Robert Rovner told reporters. “How she can try and heal it? How people can speak up and speak out? It’s woven into the entire season.”

Off-screen, “our country feels divided,” he continued. “Supergirl is a character that has always tried to use hope as a weapon to combat hate. We wanted to both use that platform to create a dialogue about what’s happening in our nation and [show] how a character like Supergirl can speak to that. But also to see how she would speak to that when she represents one of the things the nation is afraid of.”

But given the division in the world, Rovner shared the writers are trying to be as balanced as possible. “We’re exploring all sides of the issue,” he said. “This might seem political, but what she’s speaking about is treating each other with kindness…some of the sides make things divisive, but Supergirl is looking for a way to unite people, not divide us.”

The next episode, a backstory on Agent Liberty (Sam Witwer), “adds a level to depth and you understand why our villain is our villain,” Rovner said. “[The episode explains] what brought him to this place of being so against aliens. It helps keeps everything more balanced than it might have been.”

“Fallout” also allowed Nia (Nicole Maines) to shine, as the budding reporter (and future superhero, whose powers were foreshadowed in the hour) revealed to James (Mehcad Brooks) that she is a transgender woman. “She chose him because it was relevant to the position she was trying to articulate,” Rovner said. “It was important for her to speak her truth. I think they have a great relationship. It’s great that we have James really taking control of CatCo in a stronger way this year. As Kara is a mentor to Nia, so is James.”

Nia’s plea ultimately led to James taking a stand via a column. “The fallout of the editorial is…he’s very happy he’s speaking the truth,” Rovner said. “His relationship with the Children of Liberty is an interesting one, that has its roots in this episode, but gets much more complicated as we get deeper into the season.”

SUPERGIRL also set the groundwork for the Nia and Brainy (Jesse Rath) relationship, as the duo connected when the alien was discriminated against at a pizza shop. “I feel for Nicole, because flirting with Brainy is a really hard thing,” Rath said with a laugh. “I give her nothing. She has to do all the heavy lifting.”

But Brainy will have a new intriguing dynamic on the horizon: he will have sizable interactions with Lena (Katie McGrath) in episode four. “They also have these relations to these horrible and evil people,” Rath teased. “They are kind of like the black sheep of the family because they’re good.”

However, the question remains whether Lena will stay good. “The great thing about Lena is that being a Luthor, there is always the tension of what side she will eventually fall [on],” Rovner previewed. “We’ve played that in the past and this season is no different. We love Lena Luthor, we love her strength. Even though her methods may not be always the best methods, she’s always choosing a path she thinks is the right one. She’ll stop at nothing to do what’s right.”

That could come in handy as the team fights against Mercy (Rhona Mitra) and a rogue DEO agent. “I think it feels more personal, because they’re using our agents against us,” Rovner said of Team Supergirl’s fight this season. “I think they fight back as they always fight back. I think it stings a little bit more, especially for Alex, because somebody she trusted has betrayed her in a much deeper way. So she wants to fix that.”

But first, the team will have to save Supergirl, who fell from the sky after a kryptonite bomb was detonated. “It’ll take the whole team to try and save her,” Rovner previewed. “And once they do, rallying to figure out what is now gaining much greater momentum—this fear of aliens. It sets the stage for everything that comes this season.”

SUPERGIRL, Sundays, 8/7c, The CW

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